Originally translated by AgamenonWhen-Gunaydin.
Notes for the student:
The Third book of Hamalzah (or "The Later Book of Hamalzah") seems to be a continuation of the second, but also appears to be much older. Discovered in the private archives of the Hermit Zarathus Bin Ghan, it was not written in electronic format, but on scrolls that are of a type found regularly in archeological digs. However, it was noted that Zarathus was known for his archaic manners and religious fervour. He was also a master calligrapher, and some critics have therefore branded the Later Book a clever forgery. On the rare occasions he spoke, he was barely coherent and talked mainly in riddles. As a result, much of the history of the text is now lost. It is believed that shortly before his death Zarathus went insane - which would explain the way he managed to tear out his own heart with his bare hands - leaving a gory suprise for the pilgrims who discovered him in his cave - and a mystery that will, perhaps, never be solved. Having been analysed by the finest Quantar theologists, it is still unknown if the text is merely the ranting of a madman, or if the stories contained within are corrupted tales from earlier scrolls, massaged to fit the other Books.
Chapter 1: The Time of Darkness
And there came upon the lands of the Quantar a great Darkness by the hand of Horridahl. Never since the suffering they endured when Hamalzah withdrew His blessing had they suffered thus. And evil stalked the streets and fields. And many were the demon chariots seen in the skies. And many were the red and black demons of Horridahl that walked abroad, spitting fire upon the Quantar. It was said by the Council that this must be the time of Tahabir dar Jahani, or the End of Worlds. And the people grew in their anguish, and gnashed their teeth, and wept to Hamalzah. So insidious was Horridahl, that when he spoke of Hamalzah, he spoke with poisoned words. And the peoples came to think that the darkness that befell them was of the hand of Hamalzah. And some of the Quantar climbed into chariots and went away from the tribe. And the number of the chariots was eight, and within each chariot were eight priests, and eight workers and eight warriors. And they were seen to be escorted by Hordes of Horridahl, and eight red and black demons accompanied their chariots to the skies. And they were never seen again. And Hamalzah looked down upon His peoples, and wept with grief for the crimes of His brother. And He turned to His right hand, and summoned forth Roh, whom he had taken from the Quantar lest His mind become undone. And He spake unto Roh, and said "Thou shalt be returned to the Quantar, and thou shalt show the tribe that Horridahl my brother is chaotic in nature and will lead them to demise."
Chapter 2: Roh's Return
And Hamalzah gave unto Roh a mighty steed. And the steed was after the countenance of a Lion yet had a tail of fire, and a mane of gold, and teeth of steel. And the Lion was named Orus. Mighty was Orus, and much favoured by Hamalzah. And Hamalzah gave also unto Roh of armour, and of a Holy Shield which was to protect Him, and of a shishlik that was so sharp it cut the very air. And he also gave unto him a mighty bow that loosed staves of His Cleansing Light. And Roh came back unto the peoples, riding his mighty steed. And the peoples looked to Roh, and the peoples looked to Horridahl and his many demons. And they cried "You are but one man and one Lion, how shall you overcome the Hordes of Horridahl, and overcome the demon chariots which scorch our skies?" And Roh said unto them "Hamalzah gives strength to my sword arm, and Hamalzah gives me His Shield, and Hamalzah gave unto me Orus the Mighty." And the people were not certain that this would be enough. And their faith began to wane. And Horridahl spoke unto their minds, and sowed seeds of doubt amongst them. And they said unto Roh "but how do we know that Hamalzah is with you, and that He has not abandoned us to Tahabir dar Jahani?" And Roh prayed to Hamalzah, and conversed with Him, and commanded the peoples to find the biggest stone. And the peoples raised a great slab of hard stone, and Roh saw it and was much pleased.
Chapter 3: The First Stone
And Hamalzah looked down upon the stone, and touched it with His fire. And so hot was His fire, that it made the stone like ice, and His hand like a poker from the forge. And He made words upon the stone. And he told the tribe in these words how he had created the world, so that they would know that His brother was cast out, and wished their torment upon them. And the words of the stone were "And so it came to pass that the universe was formed in seven stages. And of these stages, the first was the chaos. And I took the chaos and made it firmament. And the firmament was made into the perfection of spheres. And the second was when my brother made the spheres imperfect. And the third was when my fire was breathed into some of the spheres and made light. And the fourth was when I organised the chaos of my brother's work. And the fifth was as I gave life to the spheres. And the sixth is of my creation of you my Quantar. And the seventh stage was of the fall of my brother from grace. Observe ye the first stage, and praise me. Also observe ye the final stage, and celebrate my victory over my brother, which is to come." And the people saw the words, and they believed. And Roh gathered them together and spake unto them "Heed ye the Word of Hamalzah. Gather your staves and reaping-hooks. And gather brands of fire. And gather chariots. For there will be a great battle here." And the people listened to Roh, and went about and gathered these things.
Chapter 4: The Great Battle
And Roh brought the people together, so as to face the Hordes. And arrayed them in their chariots, and gave unto them the yellow light of swiftness that had been given unto his Short Chariot. And they looked into the darkness, and saw there the red and black Hordes of Horridahl, and the demon chariots that were the colour of Noch'Sha Milk. And they saw Horridahl himself, astride a huge eagle. And the eagle had been born of fire, and risen from the ashes thereof. And the eagle was black as of the ashes. And it's feathers were red and yellow as if touched by this fire. And Horridahl flew at the tribe with ferocity, and made as to undo them with the fiery breath of the flame-eagle. And Roh drew his bow, and sent shafts of light unto Horridahl. And all the tribe saw this, and took their opportunity, and their chariots spat fire at Horridahl. And Horridahl became wary, and returned to his hordes, and bade unto them "Undo the Quantar, and rend them to pieces, that I may dispatch this troublesome priest unhindered!" And the Hordes descended upon the Quantar. And they spat their fire at the Quantar chariots. And the unliving chariots with their hearts of white fire spat at them also. And the chariots of the Quantar were no match for the violence of the Hordes, but they fought until their chariots were consumed by fire. And many were the dead of both Quantar and Demons. And Roh drew his bow, and bore down upon Horridahl with Orus's tail flaming brightly, and threw staves of light at him, and cut at him with his sword. And the Lion loosed fire unto Horridahl's flame-eagle. And Horridahl responded with the like. And the flames of Horridahl burned into Roh. And the talons of his eagle rent at the Lion. And mighty was the battle, and it's sound was heard all over the skies. And great thunder and lightning there was.
Chapter 5: The Martyrdom of Roh
And again and again Roh and Horridahl came at each other. And Horridahl was the brother of Hamalzah, and was more powerful. And Horridahl began to undo Roh. Roh's holy shield shattered asunder, and Horridahl's flame began to touch Roh's armour that had been given to Him by Hamalzah. And Orus was made lame with the torments of the eagle, and his leg was cut sore by the talons. And Roh prayed to Hamalzah, and Hamalzah gave unto Him strength. And he gathered his rage and his fear, and made them into a mighty weapon. With great force he came unto Horridahl, to undo him and his flame-eagle. And Horridahl mocked Him, and said "Surrender to me now, Roh, or I shalt rend you limb from limb. You have no weapon." And Roh said unto Horridahl, "What weapon do I require? For behold, I am the Lion... I am the weapon." And with great sacrifice, Roh charged at Horridahl, and became as hot as the sun, and made much rolling of thunder. And Roh gave his life unto the Quantar, and Horridahl was much weakened by his charge. And the demons and the abominations saw Horridahl turn his head, and take flight. The Quantar rejoiced to see Horridahl flee, and with him his demons and unliving chariots. And they sent fire after them, and they went into the darkness.
Chapter 6: The Second Stone
The Tribes of Quantar gave great thanks to Hamalzah for their victory. And they praised him and made merry at the backs of the demons, which had gone. Great were the celebrations and prayers. And the peoples said unto Hamalzah "O Hamalzah, creator off all things. I give Thee my heart. Praise, honour, and glory be to Thee for ever and ever. Hail!" And Hamalzah was pleased with his people. And he said unto them "I shall give you my words, so that you may better yourselves, and not become weak again. And to show you the strength of these words, I shall set them in stone next to the First Stone. And they shall be your guide." It was about this time that a scribe, who had been laid low with the fire of Horridahl's demons, spoke unto Hamalzah. "I have no eyes with which to see," he spake, "for they were taken from me by the demons. But I would gladly give my hand to your glory if it be of use". And the scribe was called Qu'siddi of Quantos. And Hamalzah said unto him, "hereafter, thou shalt be known as The Scribe Quantos, and you will no longer need your old name." And Hamalzah touched his eyes with his light, and Quantos could see. And Hamalzah bade Quantos the Scribe to raise another stone, next to the first, so He might give the tribe His guidance. And a stone was raised, and through Quantos the Scribe, Hamalzah made words upon the stone. And the fingers of Quantos glowed with the light of Hamalzah, and again the rock became like ice beneath them. And Hamalzah spoke, and Quantos the Scribe wrote His words.
Chapter 7: The Words Of The Stone
The Quantar looked upon the stone, and the words Hamalzah had placed there through His scribe. They saw that the words were wise, and they rejoiced. And the words said: I am the one, and the Universe is one within me, and I am one within the Universe. Thou shalt worship only me; The Quantar are chosen, and whilst in my favour, are above the beasts of the field, the birds of the skies, and all other tribes; Shun the coveting of personal belongings, and take with you only that which is good for Quantar, and pleasing unto me; Work hard for the betterment of the Universe, and for the betterment of your soul; Kill not any brother Quantar, for they are all my children, and their time will come from nature, not from the sword; Respect thy ancestors, for they sit with me and see all. Respect thy parents, for they shall be with me soonest; The Universe will provide ores for building, fields for ploughing and water for your thirst. Respect the Universe, for it is the source; Be wary of temptation and demons who attempt to turn your path. Trust in me, and I will protect you; Fear not death. Death is not the end, but he who is in my favour shall join me and meet his ancestors; Come to my house and speak with me every day at sunrise and sunset, for I made the spheres and they are my times. And there was much rejoicing.
Chapter 8: The Parting of the Merchants
But Horridahl, who was much weakened, crept into the minds of the merchants who stood about. And he whispered unto their minds, and he showed them the words. And he made them think that the words of Hamalzah would cause them great hardship, as with the spurning of personal belongings their businesses would fall. And Horridahl made them believe his words, for the merchants were of a mind that naturally looked to profit not the soul. And the Merchants began a secret dialogue with Horridahl, for they knew not who it was that spoke to them thus. The merchants left the tribe, and went far away, driven by the strong will of the damaged Horridahl. There, he instructed them to cast aside their green cloaks and take upon their shoulders cloaks of blue. Horridahl spoke to them "Wear ye blue cloaks not green, as a symbol of your adaptability and change, such is that of the waters of the rivers." And his words did confuse and drive the merchants from the path of Hamalzah. And they listened to Horridahl, who became stronger. Needing respite to lick his wounds, Horridahl placed his captain Kalib in charge of the merchants, and he turned his face from them. And soon Horridahl was strong enough to leave the spheres, and he rose unseen to the skies, and left the merchants to their selves and to Kalib. The merchants had taken heed of Horridahl's words, and they began to take gold in higher regard than their hearts. And the greedy merchants were never again seen by the tribe.
Chapter 9: The Reformation of the Council
And Hamalzah gathered together his council, who were Feiron The Wise, Chonane The Speaker, Nerida The Maker, Ovaron The Seer, Wardok The Mighty, Zarine The Librarian, Kardaron The Miner, Jintara The Farmer, Jekar The Brave, Zuluf The Labourer, Feraina The Priest and Zantor The Gatekeeper. And he bade them to go amongst the peoples of Quantar, and to speak to them of Him. And to speak to them of the Two Stones, which would become called The Two Great Pillars of Quantar. And to speak to them of the Great Battle. And this they did. The council went amongst the Quantar and told them of these things. And the Quantar listened. And the great deeds of Hamalzah, Parin and Roh were known by all. And there was much remembrance for the dead. Yet there was much praise for Hamalzah, and his chosen warriors. And Quantar became strong, and dignified, and prosperous. And the tribes moved across the face of the sphere, as was intended, and they kept order, and they honoured their ancestors. And through them moved the council of Twelve, and they were Hamalzah's messengers, and their scribe was Quantos who made them thirteen.
Chapter 10: The Journeys of the Prophets
It was thus that the council and their scribe went abroad over all of the Quantar. And they visited all of the tribes, and all of the spheres, and even to the cities in the sky. And their scribe went with them for to record the journeys. And they spoke to all of the Quantar, and told them of the words and deeds that Hamalzah had bade them. And the prophets made themselves known to the peoples. And they fought demons and took their iron chariots to joust with the unliving ones. And in these skirmishes, Jekar was undone as he placed himself in front of the maw of a demon as it spat fire at the others. Hamalzah took Jekar and made him a martyr, to be revered. And their bravery and wisdom reflected well upon Hamalzah. Ovaron, who could see the future spoke of great days to come for Quantar. Wardok, who was skilled in the shishlik, taught the tribes to fight. Zarine took it upon herself to remember all, for she was the keeper of memories. Kardaron, who knew all the minerals, taught the tribes to mine better than they had before. Jintara showed them how to make their crops grow, and their cattle become fertile, Zuluf encouoraged them to strive. Feraina and Zantor administered to them, and spoke Hamalzah's words unto them, so the tribes became light of heart and clear of mind. And Hamalzah was pleased, and gave good fortune to the tribes.